The Abandoned World (2)

Having safely escaped the Underworld alongside Kim Dokja, I blinked up at the ceiling in a daze.

…Mentally, I'm wiped.

Sleeping on the sofa in My Room's living room had worked the physical fatigue out of my body, but my mind was still thoroughly exhausted.

Alright. Get up, wash up quick, head to Yongsan Station with the party, and get ready to meet the kings with Dokja…

Wait. Something was off.

I stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment longer before the wrongness registered, and I rolled my eyes to the left.

This was not the living room of My Room as I usually knew it. The space unfolding before me looked more like I had wandered into one of the other party members' private rooms.

And then the light weight resting on my right arm made me roll my eyes the other way.

Sangah?

There she was — Yoo Sangah, using my right arm as a pillow, fast asleep.

Her tousled hair, the way she was plastered against my side — I stared at her for a moment with a blank face.

…Would it really hurt to sleep in a little longer?

Careful not to wake her, I shifted my arm, settled it around her waist, and closed my eyes again beside her.

Or rather — I tried to.

…At least the Hidden Scenario reward came through cleanly.

I still had no idea why Persephone had invited me to the Underworld, or what exactly she had been testing me for.

But I had made it out of the Underworld alive. That particular mystery could wait.

…Right now, I'd be better off focusing on whether the Star Stream will look the other way for the method I've been cooking up.

There was still a little time before the sixth Main Scenario opened. I decided to spend it chewing on that problem a bit more.

As I sorted my thoughts, last Hidden Scenario's reward suddenly floated back to mind.

Come to think of it — where's my additional reward? The Story?

I was scowling at the Bureau's usual glacial pace of paperwork and skimming the system messages when —

What?!

The system message that appeared in front of me nearly made me bolt upright without thinking.

But the next message left me wearing a blank expression.

…What the hell does that mean?

So the Incomplete Water-Calming Pearl had just absorbed my Story and gone into hibernation so it could become a complete Water-Calming Pearl?

I honestly couldn't tell whether I was supposed to be happy about this or thoroughly disgusted.

Should I celebrate that the dragon relic I'd obtained after defeating the Calamity of Water was finally becoming whole?

Or should I be pissed that a Legendary Story had just been stolen by the Water-Calming Pearl?

Ugh… It did save my ass during the Calamity of Flood. I'll let this one slide.

Counting Story Fragments, I already had thirteen Stories. For once, I decided to write this off as a loss.

Besides, the Water-Calming Pearl had helped me more times than I could count.

Attribute Window.

I opened my Attribute Window for the first time in a while.

Damn… I might actually be pretty strong now?

Overall stats far beyond any ordinary Incarnation in the Seoul Dome, a ridiculous spread of skills and attributes, overwhelming wealth — and most importantly:

I had only just cleared the fifth scenario, and I already had thirteen Stories.

Granted, one of them was a Story Fragment.

Then again, if the Water-Calming Pearl fully transforms, that Story Fragment might re-register as a proper Story.

Either way, for the moment, I was the strongest person in the Seoul Dome.

Well — that ranking could flip the second the main party got stronger, or the moment we hit the later scenarios. But still.

Having sorted my thoughts and checked the Attribute Window, I carefully extricated my arm so as not to wake Yoo Sangah, pulled the blanket over her, and slipped out of her room.

Thankfully, I didn't run into anyone on the way out. I breathed a small sigh of relief and carefully stepped outside My Room.

Outside, the party was clustered together.

They were stuffing something into their mouths and eating with obvious enjoyment. Curious, I walked over and asked,

"What the hell? You're eating without me? What's so good you're inhaling it like that?"

They flinched.

At the sound of my voice, the whole group gave a collective start, then carefully turned to look at me.

"Huh? Grape skins?"

Every single one of them was holding the empty skins of plump, perfectly ripe grapes.

Dionysus's Grapes — the ones Dionysus had given me.

Right. Yesterday we only drank the wine.

Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, little Shin Yooseung, adult Shin Yooseung, and Kim Dokja were all chewing the grapes still in their mouths with sheepish expressions.

The sight was so cute I couldn't help a small snort of laughter.

I had a pretty good idea what had happened.

"So you're all happy pigging out on grapes without me and Sangah, huh?"

I understood the situation perfectly well — but I deliberately put on a wicked little smile as I asked.

"…S-sorry. We were just really hungry…"

Kim Dokja apologized on behalf of the group.

"It's fine, it's fine. You already drank the wine with me and Sangah, Dokja. I was planning to give the rest of the grapes to everyone else anyway."

That was a complete lie. I had totally forgotten.

I'd been half a step from blackout drunk yesterday. How was I supposed to remember something like that?

I'd just made it up on the spot so the people in front of me wouldn't feel left out.

And our pure-hearted comrades were looking at me with genuine, moved expressions.

"…Jinwoo. Wait a second. You drank wine with Dokja and Sangah?"

Jung Heewon had been looking at me with that same moved expression — then she turned her head toward Kim Dokja.

"D-Dokja? You said you went to bed early yesterday…"

Lee Hyunsung, standing beside Jung Heewon, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spoke up hesitantly.

"…Is there any wine left?"

"We finished it ages ago."

"Really? That's a shame…"

Adult Shin Yooseung looked at me with clear disappointment.

"Hey! I picked that one!"

"First come, first served!"

Little Shin Yooseung and Lee Gilyoung were already fighting over the remaining grapes.

"……The grapes are good."

And under a few pointed stares from the others, Kim Dokja kept her head down and kept eating grapes.

In any case, the party finished a simple breakfast of Dionysus's Grapes and got to their feet.

Then Jung Heewon looked at me and Kim Dokja and spoke up.

"Oh, right — did you two check the sixth Main Scenario announcement?"

"Announcement? No, not yet."

"Then I'll give you the short version. Early this morning, the notice for the sixth Main Scenario went up. Everyone else who saw it already left a while ago."

At Jung Heewon's words, I looked around.

Sure enough — the people who had been near us yesterday were nowhere to be seen.

And right on cue, a system message appeared.

Kim Dokja checked the message floating in front of her and looked at us.

"Well. We already had a light breakfast, so shall we get going?"

At her words, Jung Heewon raised a hand slightly.

"Ah — what about Sangah?"

"Sangah's still in her room with a hangover. She really went hard at the end last night."

"Heeh… So Sangah's a surprisingly heavy drinker."

Jung Heewon looked genuinely surprised, then nodded as if that settled it.

The party quickly tidied the area and started packing.

Thanks to My Room, we didn't strictly need to pack anything —

But there was always the chance the Dokkaebis would slap us with a penalty and lock us out of My Room, so the consensus was that everyone should pack at least a little, just in case. We were in the middle of packing when —

Come to think of it… I don't see Jihye anywhere.

Not just Jihye. Lee Seolhwa and Yoo Joonghyuk herself — Yoo Joonghyuk's whole party — were completely missing.

Well… we'll run into them soon enough. Probably doesn't matter.

In the original, they had been the last to arrive at the kings' council — or whatever that gathering was called.

They were probably off clearing some Hidden Scenario, same as always.

We finished packing with the party and set out on foot toward Yongsan Station.

We were already in Yongsan District, and there wasn't so much as a shadow of a monster on the road, so we reached the station without any trouble.

As we arrived near Yongsan Station, the place was already boiling with a throng of survivors.

Even by eye, it looked like tens of thousands of people. We let out small sounds of awe.

"I can't believe there are still this many people left inside Seoul…"

Jung Heewon murmured, voice full of wonder at the crowd before us.

The rest of the party nodded at her muttering and eyed the human tide around them.

We pushed through the crowd. Ahead, people were all looking up at a massive screen floating in midair.

"Ah…? Is that the place?"

"A forest…?"

"Look! There's someone on the screen!"

Tens of thousands of people murmuring in one place made for a fair amount of noise, but we endured it and, like everyone else, turned our eyes to the giant screen.

That guy's name was Izumi Hiroki, right?

On the screen, a man was hunting bipedal monsters with four arms.

Long flowing hair, and a naginata — a Japanese long-handled blade — that he wielded with complete mastery. The man who held Japan's Absolute Throne.

Izumi Hiroki.

Incarnation of the Sovereign of the Eight-Headed Serpent. A man whose body was eventually stolen through a contract with his Sponsor, who became a King of Calamity, and who met a tragic end at Kim Dokja's hands.

…Man. Poor bastard.

According to the Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint webtoon, that Izumi Hiroki had been one of Yoo Joonghyuk's supporters in the later regressions, and a capable "king" on the Japanese side.

No matter how competent or well-regarded an Incarnation he was, in the end he was just another sacrifice to an unfair Sponsor contract.

I was watching him for a moment, taking in the scenery of Peace Land, when —

A new Main Scenario had arrived.

People nearby started making sounds of open panic and confusion at the freshly updated scenario message, and the reaction spread outward in every direction.

"Huh? There's no difficulty or clear condition?"

"…What the hell are we supposed to do with this? It's all question marks."

"…This isn't going to be even more dangerous than the fifth scenario, is it?"

The party was rechecking the scenario with the same startled faces as everyone around us when a voice spoke up from the side.

"It seems this scenario can only be undertaken by a select number of people."

I turned toward the voice. Standing there was a tall middle-aged man in a dragon robe.

Jeon Ildo.

The Neutral King, Jeon Ildo.

One of the few kings of Seoul who had survived the Absolute Throne Struggle alongside Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung and King of Beauty Min Jiwon.

And the man who, during the fifth Main Scenario, had stopped Seoul's Incarnations from going coin-blind and trying to take down the Calamity Shin Yooseung.

Well. He does stab us in the back later.

"You are…"

"Kim Dokja. Park Jinwoo. This is the first time I've formally introduced myself."

Jeon Ildo stepped up in front of us and held out his hand for a handshake.

"Jeon Ildo."

"Kim Dokja."

"Park Jinwoo."

After the brief introductions, Jeon Ildo looked at us and continued.

"Both during the Throne Struggle and this time as well, Dokja and Jinwoo's performances left a deep impression on me. You wouldn't believe how much my Sponsor goes on about the two of you. 'Be half as good as them,' and so on."

Jeon Ildo smiled with the easy warmth of a man who liked people.

Some people might hear the modifier "Two-Timer Expert" and write the Constellation off as some outdated star with a messy string of affairs.

That would be a serious misunderstanding.

The true identity behind Two-Timer Expert was the modifier of Gwanghaegun — the Joseon king famous as a master of neutral diplomacy.

Kim Dokja asked Jeon Ildo,

"I'd like to hear a little more about what you just said. What do you mean, only 'a select number of people' will undertake the scenario?"

"Ah — so you really didn't know."

Jeon Ildo readily shared what he knew.

"According to information released by the lower-ranked Dokkaebis this morning, this scenario will be recruiting volunteers separately."

"Volunteers?"

"Yes. Not everyone needs to participate in this scenario. And there is no penalty for not participating, either. Considering every scenario we've had so far, those are almost unbelievable terms."

I looked up at the giant screen floating in the air.

"And the participants go to that place — Peace Land."

"Hm…? Jinwoo. You know the name of that place?"

Jeon Ildo and the rest of the party all turned to look at me at once. I glanced over the faces watching me, then spoke slowly.

"Jeon Ildo. Considering you helped us in the fifth scenario, I'll give you one piece of advice."

"Yes…?"

"Drop any thought of going there. Even someone stronger than most Incarnations like you would only go there to die like a dog."

"What do you mean by…?"

"I warned you."

Well — he wouldn't even get the chance to go, anyway.

With that, I shut my mouth and turned my head toward the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surroundings, killing time.

Kim Dokja, standing beside me, shot me a complicated look — but she didn't say anything.

The people around us must have been eavesdropping, because the reactions were all over the place.

"…Holy shit. Did you hear what the King of Pleasure just said? Even a powerhouse like the Neutral King would only die like a dog if he went?"

"…Is the scenario over there really that nightmarish?"

"I-I'm not going. No way. Who the hell would walk into a place that dangerous?!"

Some people took my words to heart immediately, got cold feet, and abandoned any thought of joining the scenario.

"You heard the King of Pleasure, right? Tell the others to prepare properly. The more dangerous it is, the fatter the rewards will be."

"Did everyone check their weapons? Anyone who hasn't — hurry it up."

Others heard me and, far from being scared, started double-checking their gear and steeling their resolve. I couldn't help a small snort of laughter.

"Lord Jeon Ildo! Where are you?!"

Just then, a voice calling for Jeon Ildo rose from beyond the crowd.

"It seems time has gotten away from us."

"Go ahead. We're fine."

"No — I can't go alone. That would defeat the purpose."

"…What do you mean by that?"

Jeon Ildo checked the watch on his wrist and continued.

"The truth is, I came here to escort the two of you."

"Us?"

At Kim Dokja's question, Jeon Ildo nodded.

"A world without kings."

As the Incarnations around us began to focus their attention on this spot, Jeon Ildo spread both arms as if deliberately announcing the moment, wore an unreadable smile, and went on.

"The kings left behind in that unfortunate world have been waiting with bated breath for your arrival."

…Finally. The time had come to meet Mother-in-law again.